Meet Crystalline (Part 2)
Note: Sorry this is late guys. Was very busy over the weekend. Enjoy the next two chapters of Meet Crystalline. Chapter Three Ryder, Chase, and Marshall arrive at Mr. Porter's restaurant just after Crystalline leaves. Everyone is still outside staring at the writing in the clouds. Mr. Porter is standing beside Alex, not dangling from the large cup on the roof of his restaurant. Ryder is confused. He couldn't have fallen from such a height and not been injured. Did someone beat Ryder to the rescue? Alex is the first to notice Ryder. He exclaims, "You just missed it! A superhero came and saved my grandpa! She swooped up and around and then snatched Grandpa and set him down and then zoomed away! It was awesome!" Ryder rolls his eyes and says, "Sure. What was she wearing?" Mr. Porter answers this time. "She wore a sky blue and white super suit with a sky blue glittery cape. No mask, no goggles, no nothing on her face except the usual features. Speaking of features, she had blonde hair, blue eyes, and a charming voice." "Wow, what a description," thinks Ryder. Out loud, he asks, "What's her name?" Alex points to the clouds. Ryder looks and sees the name. Crystalline. He feels the name is related to someone he knows, but can't place it. "Hmm. I think I need to look into this superhero," he thinks. Later, Ryder stops once again by the library. Amber is sitting at her desk, playing a game on her tablet. "Wow. Second time in one day. You a bookworm?" She asks, putting down the device. Ryder laughs. "I don't have time to be a bookworm. I do have a question for you though." "Wait wait wait don't tell me lemme guess. You either want to ask me if I'd go with you to dinner tonight, or... You have a question about superheroes." "No, I mean yes. Wait, how'd you know that?" "I have a small tendency to read minds. Now what's the question about superheroes?" "Do you think they exist? And if so, how?" "That's an easy one. I believe that superheroes do exist, and they probably aren't easy to spot since they disguise themselves as ordinary people. If you want to learn more, then follow me." Amber stands and begins to walk towards the back of the library. Ryder hesitates, then dashes to keep up with her. "So, where are we going?" he asks. "A place that is very special to me." Amber walks up to a door. It looks like an average library door, but Amber knows better. She pushes aside the black curtain, revealing a number pad. She punches in a code and opens the door. She enters the room and beckons for Ryder to follow. Once again, he hesitates but follows anyway. The door shuts loudly. "Better hang on to your lunch," Amber warns. Zoom! The room is an elevator and it's rushing toward the bottom of the building! In his mind, Ryder is thinking,"I kinda wish I'd not followed Amber in here!" Amber is laughing and shouting, "This is the best part of it, Ryder. Enjoy it while you can! Wheeeeee!" Her legs fly into the air. She floats nearly to the ceiling. Ryder can't hold on to the bars of the elevator. His legs come out from under him as well and he flies up to the ceiling next to Amber. Suddenly the elevator slows, sending both of them to the floor. Amber, still laughing, says, "That's fun if you're alone, but even more fun with two people." Ryder is dizzy, but agrees. "Yep, terrifying but incredibly fun. Hey, by the way, where are we?" "The basement of the library. But I don't call it that. I call it 'The Hall of Education.' It has books on every topic known to mankind and dogkind. I've read each book in this room!" Amber smiles as the elevator doors open. She sweeps her hand to show the vastness of the room. It's huge! Large golden bookshelves array the walls and center of the rectangular room, with bronze stepladders to reach the high shelves. The floor is covered in silver colored carpeting and the ceiling is coated in platinum. "Whoa. Did you do this all by yourself?"asks Ryder. "Mm-hm. You're not the only prodigy in the world, you know. I'm sure we can find a book about superheroes here somewhere. Let's see. Spiders 101, no, no, aha! 'Everything You Need to Know About Superheroes.' Perfect!" Amber pulls a book about an inch thick from a shelf. Ryder, out of sudden curiosity, asks, "What's the biggest book you've ever read?" "Wow, that came out of the blue. How 'bout I show you the book, 'cause the name of the book is long and very hard to pronounce." "Sure." Amber runs and swings onto a ladder and climbs it as it rolls to a shelf with a book eight inches thick sitting on it. Amber tries to grab the book, but misses. She tries again and catches it, but can't pull it out. She pulls and it budges. "Ugh. I-- whoa!" The ladder rolls out from under Amber, causing her to dangle fifteen feet in the air. "You okay?" Ryder calls. "Yeah, I'm fine!" she calls back. "Not," she thinks. Ryder comes around the corner and stops in his tracks. "Holy cow!" He's shell shocked at the sight of Amber hanging on to a book for dear life. "Yeah. Crazy up here." Amber yanks on the book, pulling it off the shelf and sending her hurtling toward the ground. She releases the book, pushes off the shelving, does a back flip, and lands on her feet in a cool pose. She straightens and catches the falling book. Ryder is amazed. Amber walks up and gently pushes his jaw closed, smiling. "This is the biggest book I've ever read," she says, showing him the book. "What, stunt gettin' to ya? Trust me. That was not the best one I've ever done. Besides, when you work a job that has you go to high places, you figure out how to do that in a few weeks." Chapter Four They go back up to the first floor. "Thanks again for the book, Amber," says Ryder. "Oh, well you know, whenever you need a good book, just yelp for help," Amber says, smiling. Ryder laughs. "Hey, that's my line." "Exactly. See you, Ryder." "See you." Ryder hops on his ATV and starts to head back to the Lookout. He's riding next to a ledge when Garby jumps into his path. He swerves to dodge the goat and rolls off his ATV. The four-wheeler stops, but Ryder skids straight for the ledge. He grabs the edge and looks down. "Oy, that was a massive mistake. Help!" he cries. Back at the library, Amber hears Ryder's call for help. "Man, two rescues in one day. But forget that. Ryder needs my help." She walks outside and passes a pole. When she passes it, she changes into Crystalline and takes off with a leap. Soaring through the air, Crystalline can see super far. She sees Ryder hanging from the side of the cliff. "Hold on!" She yells, swooping down to come under him. She zooms closer and closer. Ryder drops. "Whoa!" He cries as he falls. He lands in Crystalline's arms. "It's okay. I've got you." Ryder turns to see the blue-eyed, blonde superhero who had just saved his life. She flies and lands back on the ground next to his ATV. She sets him down. "You... You're... Crystalline." Ryder says in between breaths. "Wow. You're real!" "As real as life itself, Ryder." "H-How do you know my name?!" "You're pretty popular with the townies, you know." "Oh, yeah." "Do you want me to fly you back?" "What? Me? No. It's just... Okay, sure." "Boy, you sure have trouble making up your mind." Crystalline says, wrapping an arm around his midsection. "Okay. Whaat are you doing?" Ryder asks nonchalantly. "I'm making sure that you don't faceplant into the Earth's crust." She smiles and lifts into the air. Ryder clings a little. Crystalline laughs. "What, did the fall scare you into not flying?" Ryder blushes and lets go a bit. "This is kinda cool. Or maybe a lot cool! I'm flying over Adventure Bay with a real superhero after being rescued from certain death by falling. What more could a guy ask for?" Ryder thinks. They fly until the sun starts to set. Crystalline and Ryder soar over the Lookout. The pups see them and begin to cheer. Skye gasps in astonishment. They run to the elevator and go to the control room. Ryder and Crystalline are outside as the pups enter. Crystalline flies off. Zuma tries to ask Ryder the question everyone is thinking, "D-Did she just..." "Yes," Ryder says with a smile. "Yes, she did." P. S. The next two chapters will be out soon. Stay tuned to Fanon Network!��☺ Thanks for reading.